The "ASEAN-JAPAN Actions on Sport: Gender Equality" project is an initiative promoted by The International Research Center for Sport and Gender Equality (SGE). It is conducted as part of the Japan Sports Agency’s commissioned project: "Formation of a Foundation for Promoting International Sports Policies: Implementation of Agreed Items of Intergovernmental Meetings Type B (FY2025)." In this project, the government of Japan and the 11 ASEAN nations collaborate to achieve gender equality through sport. As part of this initiative, a three-day hybrid workshop (including online participation) was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from January 13 to 15, 2026.

This workshop was conducted as a follow-up to the previous sessions held in Hanoi, Vietnam (2024), and Manila, Philippines (2025).

In the past workshops, discussions centered on the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of two priority issues identified by each country, based on the "Sport for Generation Equality Framework" launched by UN Women in 2020.

Building upon these milestones, this workshop aimed to identify and organize the key elements necessary for each country to concretely mainstream gender-responsive perspectives into their national sports policies. Participants sought to enhance their practical knowledge and capacity regarding the budgetary planning and institutional design required to translate gender equality initiatives into action. Furthermore, they collaborated to develop a draft of the ASEAN Common Gender Indicators, working toward the establishment of a robust monitoring framework at the regional level.

Additionally, the workshop provided an opportunity to deepen understanding of practical strategies for promoting sports participation among girls and women in various settings, including rural and underserved communities. Participants also explored effective methods for fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders such as government agencies, educational institutions, and community organizations.

A total of 31 participants from the 11 ASEAN member states attended the event, including Timor-Leste, which joined the association in 2025. The workshop featured distinguished resource persons, including Dr. Lombe Mwambwa, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport, and Ms. Game Mothibi, Senior Manager at TAFISA.

Day 1 (January 13)
Opening Ceremony

At the opening ceremony on the first day, H.E. Phon Bophateavy, Director General of the General Directorate of Sports at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia, serving as co-host, introduced the previous initiatives of the "ASEAN–Japan Actions on Sports: Gender Equality" project. In addition to these remarks, the Director General provided a brief report on Cambodia's domestic efforts to promote gender equality and delivered a welcoming address to mark the opening of the workshop.

Representing The International Research Center for Sport and Gender Equality (SGE), Deputy Director Aya Noguchi delivered a greeting expressing her gratitude to the Cambodian government and all stakeholders involved. She noted that through previous workshops and follow-up activities, each country has made progress with initiatives tailored to their specific cultural contexts. She further stated that as international attention from organizations such as UNESCO continues to grow, this workshop serves as a vital opportunity to reaffirm the importance of integrating gender equality into medium-to-long-term policies, budgets, and monitoring systems.

Followed by, H.E. Vath Chamroeun, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia, delivering the opening declaration. In his address, he highlighted the significance of promoting gender equality under the framework of ASEAN-Japan cooperation and expressed high expectations for the outcomes of this workshop. He also touched upon the alignment of these efforts with Cambodia’s national strategies, the gender mainstreaming plan within the education sector, and the international policies of the IOC. He emphasized the vital importance of ongoing collaboration to expand female participation and create an inclusive sporting environment. Furthermore, while sharing the current status of the female representation ratio in the Cambodian sports sector, he called upon all member nations to cooperate in the formulation of the ASEAN Work Plan on Sport 2026–2030.

Introduction　

To open the session, Aya Noguchi shared the importance of establishing gender equality as a sustainable mechanism by integrating it into medium-to-long-term sports policies rather than treating it as a "one-off project," building upon the achievements of the ASEAN–Japan Actions on Sports: Gender Equality to date.

She observed that, "While countries have progressed in discussions regarding gender analysis, the setting of priority issues, the formulation of action plans, and monitoring through indicators, the challenges of securing budgets and establishing systems for data collection and utilization remain common issues." Based on this premise, it was confirmed that this workshop would focus on the reflection of these goals in policy documents, budget planning, the consideration of common indicators, the promotion of sports for women and girls in rural areas, and stakeholder collaboration. The objective is to design actionable next steps for each country and to build a foundation for collaboration across ASEAN.

Global Trends in Gender Equality and Sport Policy

In the following session, the discussion focused on global trends in sports policy with a specific emphasis on gender equality. Aya Noguchi emphasized that "gender equality in sports is not about increasing the workload, but rather an initiative to make sports policies more effective, inclusive, and sustainable."

She also noted that because sports have historically developed as a male-centered field, inequalities tend to persist. She explained that gender equality should be positioned as a responsibility to be guaranteed through public policy rather than being viewed merely as a matter of culture.

Against the global backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and outcome documents from UNESCO’s MINEPS (the International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport), she touched upon the increasing importance of safeguarding and addressing gender-based violence. Regarding policy frameworks, she introduced three models: (1) the Normative model, which centers on rights and political commitment; (2) the Operational model, which enhances transparency and accountability through measurement and reporting; and (3) the Transformative model, which aims to change structures, power, and governance. She explained that rather than choosing between these models, it is essential to combine them incrementally.

In particular, she explained that it is necessary to prioritize "mechanisms before numbers" by establishing annual reporting and data collection systems and improving the quality of data through collaboration. While acknowledging the diversity within ASEAN, she noted the region's strengths in regional dialogue and mutual learning, emphasizing the importance of moving forward in solidarity through discussions on common indicators.

Resource Sharing 1: GO Activities and Policy Mapping by Dr. Lombe Mwambwa

In this session, Dr. Lombe Mwambwa of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport (GO), a collaborative partner of the SGE Center, took the stage as a recurring resource person for the workshop. She shared insights gained from GO’s activities, strategies, and practices regarding how to measure progress in gender equality and how to track and map policies and legal systems as key indicators.

At the beginning of the session, the necessity of viewing gender equality through the lens of "Sport+," which includes Physical Education and Physical Activity rather than being limited to competitive sports, was emphasized. Furthermore, it was reaffirmed that gender equality does not assume a monolithic image of women, but an “inclusive” concept that engages an intersectional approach to consider the diversity of women and girls, including age, living environment, sexual orientation, and race.

In the explanation of policy mapping, a framework was introduced to analyze the existence and content of policies, legal systems, action plans, and strategies in each country based on 17 themes. It was pointed out that it is important to evaluate the "depth of content"—the extent to which each document covers specific areas—rather than simply performing a numerical assessment of "whether a policy exists or not." Additionally, the need to track not only the status of signatures on international frameworks, but also the presence of reservations, implementation and reporting structures, and accountability mechanisms was emphasized. Furthermore, she spoke on the importance of documentation to record decision-making and implementation processes in addition to outcomes, and called upon participants from each country to cooperate in providing information, verification, and exchanging opinions.

Presentations from Member Nations

In the afternoon session, participating countries delivered presentations regarding their progress in promoting gender equality over the past two years, outlining improvements, ongoing issues, and newly emerging challenges. The reports also covered key anchor policies, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems - including data and reporting structures, and current budget statuses versus target levels. Based on these points, concrete draft outcomes for future policy strengthening were presented.

Following the presentations, Ms. Game Mothibi of TAFISA, acting as one of the resource persons, commended the progress made by each country and emphasized the importance of demonstrating data-driven results to secure funding and foster collaboration. Specifically, she urged the intentional inclusion of women and girls in rural and underserved areas from the planning stages, advocating for data collection methods tailored to the local context and community-led implementation. Furthermore, she encouraged alignment with international frameworks and the strengthening of partnerships both within and outside the region. Finally, she raised the importance of ensuring accountability so that government policies do not end as "mere rhetoric."

Dr. Mwambwa praised the presentations, noting that "significant progress has been seen since the previous workshop in Manila." She commended the fact that discussions for securing budgets are underway in many countries and that some have already succeeded in doing so. Following this, she provided an explanation on organizing the types of data to be collected - ranging from the national level to sports organizations, and strategies for scaling initiatives from the local to the national level. She further explained that when it is difficult for the sports sector to act alone, it is effective to utilize surveys and mechanisms from other sectors, such as education, health, and local administration. She concluded by stating that transparent data reporting is necessary and that integrating national data through common indicators and dashboards would enable a comprehensive understanding of the situation across the entire region.

Resource Sharing 2: Collaboration with Stakeholders

In the final session of the first day, a panel discussion was held among the three resource persons on the theme of "Collaboration with Stakeholders." It was repeatedly emphasized that in promoting sports and gender equality, "there are limits to what can be achieved alone, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, both domestically and internationally, is essential."

The discussion covered a wide range of topics, including strategies and challenges in practicing collaboration - such as adjusting relationships and power balances, the roles and accountability expected of governments, and points of contention in coordination between relevant agencies, including National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Additionally, "effective collaboration methods" were shared through concrete examples, including the clarification of roles, outcomes, and risks; the documentation and systematization required to sustain collaboration as an institution - such as through MOUs; and partnerships extending beyond the sports sector.

Japanese case studies were also highlighted during the session. Noguchi stated that "hosting the IWG in Japan in 2015, where major sports stakeholders signed the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration (the 10 principles), led to the formation of a commitment to promote gender equality at the policy level." She demonstrated how international frameworks can serve as a mechanism to unite stakeholders. Furthermore, Ms. Mothibi pointed out that the key to sustainable collaboration is the importance of "moving beyond mere 'consultation' toward 'co-creation and collective action'." and highlighted succeed as a model example, the IOC funded TAFISA programme.

From the floor, questions were raised regarding how to build collaboration within the constraints of limited budgets and resources, and how to secure projects and resources in an actionable manner while involving organizations outside the sports sector, such as religious and cultural groups. Particular attention was given to engaging organizations beyond the traditional sports ecosystem, including religious institutions, cultural groups, community leaders, and local civil society actors as strategic partners in expanding grassroots participation. The discussion also acknowledged the reality that national priorities often compete with Sport for All programmes for political attention and public funding. another point from the floor. This led to an active exchange of opinions regarding specific approaches to negotiation and partnership.

Day 2 (January 14)
Sharing Good Practices on Women’s Sport Promotion Plans — Dr. Nazira Binti Abdul Rahman (Malaysia)

In the first session of the second day, Dr. Nazira Binti Abdul Rahman from Malaysia took the stage to introduce the “Women in Sports Action Plan 2021–2025” as a practical example of women’s sports policy. Launched in 2021, this plan is Malaysia’s first comprehensive policy specifically dedicated to women in sports. It is structured around five key pillars, comprising 8 goals, 19 strategies, and 45 initiatives.

The initiatives are promoted in alignment with domestic policies - such as the equality principles of the Federal Constitution, the Sports Development Act 1997, the National Sports Policy, and the National Sports Vision 2030, as well as international frameworks like the Olympic Charter and the SDGs. A key characteristic of the plan is its positioning of sport as a driving force for social integration, health promotion, and economic growth. Furthermore, the plan is operated through a "Whole-of-nation" approach involving cross-ministerial and public-private collaboration, with a regular monitoring system established around the Women in Sports Committee. As of 2024, while the ratio of technical officials has met its target, challenges remain regarding the numbers of female coaches and leaders as well as the sports culture index, and improvement policies for the next phase were presented.

This presentation garnered high interest as a practical example that views women's sports policy as a continuous cycle - from systematic formulation to implementation and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Additionally, by transparently sharing lessons learned over five years of implementation and directions for improvement in the next plan from 2026 onwards, the session went beyond a simple introduction of a success story to become a highly educational experience. Many questions and opinions were raised by participants from various countries in response to this practical and forward-looking approach.

Promoting Sport Participation for Women and Girls at the Grassroots Level — Ms. Game Mothibi (TAFISA)

Following the previous session, Ms. Game Mothibi, representing TAFISA, led a discussion on practical approaches and policy design to expand sport participation for women and girls at the grassroots level. She provided a counterpoint to the "high-performance" focus often prioritized by National Olympic Committees (NOCs), emphasizing gender-sensitive strategies tailored to local contexts.

First, she defined "Sport for All" as an inclusive concept encompassing not only competitive sports, but also physical activity, leisure, play, and active commuting. She challenged participants with fundamental gender-lens questions: "Who participates, who makes decisions, who benefits, and who controls the resources?" During the discussion, challenges such as fragmented data that is difficult to integrate and the continued male bias in decision-making positions were identified.

She contextualized this approach within TAFISA’s global mandate to lead the Sport for All movement, emphasizing that access to sport and physical activity is a fundamental right and a driver of social change, public health, and sustainable community development. Furthermore, cultural norms, facilities and spaces, time constraints, economic factors, and transportation access were cited as barriers to sports participation for women and girls. Proposed countermeasures included transforming norms through awareness-raising, institutionalizing equitable funding allocation and resource mobilization, utilizing open spaces, showcasing role models, establishing gender-responsive safeguarding, and advancing female leadership.

She introduced the Gender Programming Continuum, encouraging participants to move beyond gender-neutral approaches toward gender-transformative programming that actively reshapes norms, systems, and power relations within sport structures. To strengthen Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), a perspective centered on five key elements - Leadership, Participation, Culture, Accessibility, and Empowerment, was shared. The importance of advancing resource acquisition and data collaboration through alignment with international frameworks was also emphasized.

She emphasized that what gets measured gets prioritized, advocating for gender audits, sex-disaggregated data collection, and gender-responsive budgeting to ensure that commitments translate into measurable impact.

She highlighted practical examples from TAFISA’s programmes, including the Girls Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway, the Women Leadership Programme, and the Certified Leadership Course integrating gender equity, as scalable models that ASEAN Member States could adapt to strengthen grassroots participation and female leadership pathways. She concluded by urging National Olympic Committees to demonstrate value not solely through competitive success, but through measurable community impact, positioning Sport for All as an investment in public health, social cohesion, gender equity, and local economic resilience.

Group Work: Developing Medium- to Long-Term Gender-Responsive Sports Policies

Following the conclusion of all information sessions, dedicated time was provided for country-specific group work. The objective of these sessions was to design gender-sensitive sports policies tailored to each national context, ultimately resulting in draft proposals for the national policy process. Emphasis was placed on developing content that is both realistic and actionable for each country from a medium-term perspective of approximately three to five years.

Day 3 (January 15)

The third day began with presentations of the draft sports policy proposals developed by each country during the group work sessions.

Dr. Mwambwa highly commended the participants for accurately identifying their respective national challenges and contexts, and for linking gender equality with sports policy by leveraging existing policy and legal frameworks. She noted that many countries are moving toward establishing data collection, research, and monitoring systems. While acknowledging that progress stages vary by nation, she expressed her expectation for continued mutual learning within the network.

Furthermore, she pointed out that linking policy to public interests, such as Sport for All, strengthens its persuasiveness, leads to secured budgets and political support, and improves long-term sustainability. She also mentioned the importance of designing policies with consideration for initial risks as well as policy and budget cycles.

Finally, regarding the concretization of accountability structures, she emphasized that "the key is to clarify who owns the data, who reports it, where it is reported, and how responsibilities are shared." She also noted that explicitly connecting these initiatives to international frameworks facilitates collaboration with non-sports government departments, leading to increased policy visibility and support acquisition.
Designing Common Indicators to Measure Gender Equality Progress Across ASEAN Member States
In the final session, discussions focused on designing "ASEAN Common Gender Indicators" to measure progress in gender equality across member states. This session was conducted as a mixed-country group discussion, aimed at exploring the direction of shared indicators that could be adopted across the ASEAN region.

Designing Common Indicators to Measure Gender Equality Progress Across ASEAN Member States

In the final session, discussions focused on designing "ASEAN Common Gender Indicators" to measure progress in gender equality across member states. This session was conducted as a mixed-country group discussion, aimed at exploring the direction of shared indicators that could be adopted across the ASEAN region.

Closing Ceremony

Following the conclusion of all sessions, the workshop was brought to a close with remarks from representatives of the participating organizations. First, Ms. Nasya Nabila Nursabrina, representing the Education, Youth, and Sports Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, took the stage to express her gratitude, noting that the participants' active discussions and sharing of experiences were vital elements in shaping the success of the workshop. She also highlighted that this project has supported the "ASEAN Work Plan on Sports 2021–2025" since 2020, praising the workshop for providing significant insights for the formulation of the upcoming ASEAN Work Plan on Sports 2026–2030.

On behalf of the participants, Ms. Christina Yoke Yee Tham from Singapore expressed deep appreciation for the warm welcome and heartfelt hospitality provided by the Cambodian government. Reflecting on the event, she noted that the three days were particularly memorable and emphasized that the specific, practical guidance on policy structuring and budget design provided a wealth of learning for all countries.

Ms. Nursabrina (left) and Ms. Tham (right) delivering their closing remarks.

Next, Ms. Noguchi, Deputy Director of The International Research Center for Sport and Gender Equality (SGE), expressed her gratitude for the participants' active engagement and collaboration throughout the three days. She highlighted that the workshop successfully facilitated concrete discussions on integrating gender equality into medium- and long-term sports policies - covering policy language, implementation pathways, budgets, indicators, and accountability. She extended her appreciation to the Government of Cambodia, the ASEAN Secretariat, the Japan Sports Agency, international organizations, and the experts involved, expressing her hope that the partnerships and policy drafts established here would lead to positive changes across each nation and the ASEAN region.

Finally, representing the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia, H.E. Vath Chamroeun, Secretary of State, delivered the closing remarks. He expressed his pleasure at the meaningful discussions held in the historic city of Siem Reap and reaffirmed Cambodia’s commitment, as the chair of SOMS 2026–2027, to promoting priority issues including gender equality and working toward sustainable and responsible sports development. Furthermore, under the philosophy of "Sport Live in Peace," he emphasized the stance of utilizing sport as a means to promote peace, diplomacy, and regional stability and development. He concluded by expressing his hope for future reunions and officially declared the workshop closed.

As part of the Japan Sports Agency's commissioned project, "Forming a Foundation for Promoting International Sports Policy in the Project for Forming a Foundation for International Sports Expansion: Implementation of Agreements from Intergovernmental Meetings (Type B, FY2025)," follow-up on the progress of each country will continue based on the discussions held during this workshop.